The arrest of a suspect accused of a deadly crime spree in New York City. The NYPD alleges that Manhattan resident Roland Codrington, 35, murdered a doctor he encountered in Marcus Garvey Park and a man found dead on a Lower East Side street.
Additionally, he is accused of attacking three individuals inside a Harlem bar. The incidents have all occurred within the past few days.
New York Fatal Stabbings
Dr. Bruce Maurice Henry, a 60-year-old pediatrician, was discovered dead in Marcus Garvey Park at 2:00 am, the day before Christmas Eve, in what the NYPD describes as an act of random violence. Codrington allegedly stabbed the victim in the back, torso, eye, and hands while he was walking through the park to "cool off" after assaulting three people nearby.
The following evening, police located Codrington driving the victim's Mercedes-Benz in the Bronx and arrested him for not only one but two murders and multiple assaults.
A few hours before the doctor's murder, Codrington allegedly entered Teddy's Bar and Grill on Second Avenue around 11 p.m. on December 22 with a pit bull and a baseball bat and choked a 29-year-old woman working behind the bar.
When two men attempted to intervene, Codrington allegedly stabbed one in the chest and the other in the back, according to police. Three days earlier, on December 19, at 1 a.m., a 51-year-old man was discovered dead in front of 214 Avenue A. According to the police, Codrington was captured on camera stabbing the victim in the neck, and this attack was also deemed random.
"Our suspect is captured on video footage walking southbound on Avenue A." James Essig, the NYPD's chief of detectives, stated that a man approached the victim, argued with him for approximately 20 seconds, and then slashed him in the neck with a knife.
Police say that because they believe the two homicides were random, they are now investigating other stabbings in the city to determine if there are any connections. The alleged murderer was with four others when the police approached him, according to officials. Then Codrington instructed the officers, "Let them go. I am the individual you seek, according to the criminal complaint filed against him, CBS News reported.
Killing Spree Suspect Was With His Girlfriend During The Crime
A bartender at the watering hole reported to police that he heard officers outside and came out to find Cunningham lying in a pool of blood on the street with a 10-inch gash to his neck. According to police, Codrington, who was with his girlfriend at the time, had a dispute with the victim outside the bar and slashed him within 20 seconds.
Just few days later, on December 22, Codrington allegedly assaulted a female bartender and then stabbed two patrons who came to the victim's aid at Teddy's Bar on Second Avenue near East 112th Street in Manhattan, according to police, as per Fox5.
Codrington, who had been kicked out of the watering hole a week earlier during a fight, walked in with a pit bull and a baseball bat, confronted the 29-year-old bartender, assaulted her, and "damaged property," according to Essig.
The heinous murder, which occurred one day before Henry's birthday, has baffled police, who say there is no motive. The day before, neighbors reported seeing the doctor leaving his Spuyten-Duyvil building in casual attire.
Detectives were able to link the two murders and the assault after combing through countless leads,"Sewell said, praising the arrest as a department-wide collaboration of intelligence, resources, and expertise.
Essig stated that Codrington was apprehended after police spotted him driving Henry's stolen vehicle on Jerome Avenue and 166th Street in The Bronx on Saturday. Codrington's criminal record already included a list of violent offenses.
According to law enforcement sources, he has as many as 20 prior arrests, some of which are sealed. His most recent arrest was on January 20 for altering the VIN number on a motorcycle. According to sources, he was charged with third-degree assault on June 9, 2021, and assault with intent to cause bodily harm on September 13, 2017.
According to sources, he was also charged with gun possession in 2013 and had a string of arrests ranging from second-degree robbery to fare evasion dating back to 2005.
Codrington had an outstanding arrest warrant prior to his most recent arrest. It was not immediately clear which case the September warrant pertained to. In April 2021, he was released from the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Oneida County after serving a three-to-six-year sentence for possession of a firearm, according to his prison records.
According to court documents, he was also sentenced to up to four years on another gun possession charge and released in August 2017, and he served two years for attempted robbery before being freed in 2012.
According to the police, Codrington has been charged with two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, one count of second-degree assault, and one count of criminal mischief. In all three cases, he was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday and ordered held without bail, New York Post reported.
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